On Shrove Tuesday I shared a Lenten meditation with some friends in Botswana. It included a message that had recently been forwarded to me: Pray for the International Anglican Women’s Network as it connects Anglican women across the world, encouraging them to become influential, equal participants throughout the Communion and in their own communities.

In the wee hours of Ash Wednesday came the first response. It was from a member of the Anglican Women’s Fellowship at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Gaborone: Thank you so much for the encouraging message, my sister. The AWF celebrated Shrove Tuesday with church parishioners. We first had a short service to celebrate World Women’s Day, followed by a small feasting of snacks. It was good for us all.

(Hmmm. Perhaps next Fat Tuesday, in the spirit of companion relationship, we can switch places. American Anglicans can try the feast of small snacks and African Anglicans can partake in piles of pancakes. But I digress.)

The rituals leading to the season of Lent are familiar to all who profess the faith of Christ crucified. There’s comfort in knowing we’re all in this together — all working to discover what it means to be a member of the body of Christ. There’s joy in being given the opportunity for meaningful presence in the life of another, even if they are physically a world away. And as the picture of one of the stained glass windows in Holy Cross Cathedral attests, we all share the burden and the glory of the cross. This is good for us all.